LINCOLN- On Sunday, the yard of the Governor's Mansion was filled with children and parents for the inaugural 'Hometown Christmas' celebration that followed the 75th annual Christmas tree lighting at the State Capitol. First Lady Suzanne Pillen took the lead in planning the event.

"The tradition was to always have cookies and coffee and people walk through," said the First Lady, "and I'm like, 'That's no fun for kids.' So, we decided to really blow this up and make it very family-oriented." Gov. Pillen said his main contribution to the event was getting the stretch of H Street in front of the residence closed to traffic during the festivities.

"I know when to delegate and stay out of the way," said Gov. Pillen, "It was Suzanne's idea, and I said 'Great idea. Go for it.'" Gov. Pillen gave a speech late into the event, remarking upon the beauty of the Capitol, the "house of the people," and its murals. A protestor shouted throughout the ceremony with calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, prompting Pillen to talk about political discourse. "We hopefully can all have a little more courage to stand up and do that, if you do it in a respectful manner like Nebraskans do," he said.

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